Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign megathread

[Mr. Smith]

Bernie is totally busted now.

https://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/1102331616695910400

This is the same woman who could not name a newspaper that she could read and said the Iranian President's name 10 million times during the VP Debate (every 2 minutes, the name of Iran's President came out of her mouth). Also she also created "Drill, Baby, Drill." This woman does not have a high school diploma. Even Republicans don't like her. Sadly, she can be a Senator if she wants, because primarying Murkowksi is easy

Joe Miller agrees.

[Mr. Smith]

I'll add as a final salvo that ever since 2016 I've held essentially the opposite view - Bernie Sanders's best position is within the Senate. He's largely acted on the party by refocusing it's moral compass and shifting the Overton Window. And that's great! It's one of the major successes of his campaign and the reason why I think the 2016 primary was, in the long term, a good thing for the party even if it may have led to Trump's election. But Bernie can (and already has) done that effectively in the Senate when he's been given a platform and a megaphone; he can use his position to essentially whip and bully other Senators into adopting his platform. It's what he's already done with Medicare for All and we're seeing it (slowly) operate on foreign policy e.g. with Israel/Palestine. He's demonstrated that he can do this effectively in the Senate. All of the things you are arguing that he would have the power to do as a President, he is already doing.

Err yes, only since he made a relatively successful run for President in 2016. He didn't have any policy influence whatsoever with the Democratic leadership in the Senate until he won millions of votes running for President. The only way for Sanders to keep the Democratic Party moving to the left is to win the party's nomination for President to show the 'establishment' that his policy preferences have the largest constituency.

In a Sanders vs. Biden race, yes I agree with that. In a Sanders vs. Warren race (the context of that post) you're getting policy proposals to the same end. Ignoring high school level analysis like "But Bernie is a socialist and Warren is a capitalist" you aren't going to get very much difference in the values that the two candidates are trying to achieve. In a choice between these two I'd absolutely rather have the policy crafter instead of a motivational speaker as President.

FDR, Ike, Bill Clinton, and Reagan were not policy people. Hoover, Carter, Nixon, and Bush Sr were.

The evidence for motivational speakers over policy people couldn't be more clear.

[Mr. Smith]

I can't be the only Democrat Republican who feels Bernie Reagan is the best asset the Republicans Democrats have. He's basically a literal cartoon of everything Democrats Republicans have been accused of being for the past 50-60 years.

And then 1980 happened.

[Mr. Smith]

This egotistical boosting is why I detest the Sanders movement.  If they cared about the future of our nation they would say the same for several candidates running against Sanders. Oh no, we can't let the other slimy Neo-liberals get in our way, it's all King Bernie to the rescue, for he'll save us from the mercy of Trump.


https://twitter.com/lizcgoodwin/status/1125101962268008453

With the exception of Warren, the other candidates probably *aren’t* going to fundamentally transform the country, though. They’re just normal Democrats.

Bernie and Warren are no different. Neither of them are going to transform the country given the current make up of congress.

Sure they will, if they generate enough excitement, they flip AZ/CO/ME and NC/GA in the Senate which takes care of Mitch. And they'll have Speaker Pelosi to pick up the slack in The House.

The first two years of Obama when he had both were by far the most transformative years. It stands then that Bernie/Warren should be able to do the same.

Polarization is a double-edged sword, not a GOP-Always-Wins one. 

[Mr. Smith]

https://twitter.com/Integrity_Guy/status/1141439378750758912

That guy was asleep just last decade. Hillary did everything she could to be different from Obama, and vice versa.

[Mr. Smith]

https://twitter.com/eclecticbrotha/status/1144687219212455936


Hope the brocialists are having a meltdown now that a black women is stealing the thunder from Saint Bernard Sanders.

I hope you'll be having a meltdown when straight white male Joe Biden wins the Democratic nomination and then loses the general, leading to an actual progressive being nominated in 2024.

You think Biden'd lose?

Why not?

Hillary did for less than what Biden has on him, and after that debate performance, this even goes for the energy needed to counteract those misgivings.

This means lots of voters will likely stay home or vote 3rd party.

[Mr. Smith]

I wonder if this performance'll put Bernie into 20%, he's done great.

[Mr. Smith]

https://twitter.com/Zebop/status/1156360829354356736

Why shouldn’t he?

It makes him look like an old angry white man.

Should he not be angry?

He should look at how Mayor Pete and Beto O'Rourke debate, that's rational talk. Warren has argued his views without alienating the Democratic base.

Remind me how well Rational Romney came off in 2012, compared to Obama's wise-guy act. It was good right?

Kasich was oh-so rational in 2016...that's why he's President now.

https://twitter.com/Zebop/status/1156360829354356736

Why shouldn’t he?

It makes him look like an old angry white man.

Should he not be angry?

He should look at how Mayor Pete and Beto O'Rourke debate, that's rational talk. Warren has argued his views without alienating the Democratic base.

Why would anyone look at how Beto is debating?

His claim demeanor is a seller for those who are bothered by Bernie's boisterous appearance.

I don't see how the demeanor of a claims agent is a good thing.

[Mr. Smith]

The thing with Sanders on gun control is that this probably was, at least in part, him pandering to his constituents and generally doing what a normal politician does. Problem with that defense though is that he is supposed to be a conviction politician, and if he's just a normal politician that undercuts a key part of his candidacy.

Isn't "Bernie is a saint who stands his ground and fights to the death for his convictions" supposed to be one of the main arguments for why he will be able to pass his fantasy legislation?

If he can't pass his legislation, his entire candidacy falls apart.

At least he goes down with conviction.

Can you the say the same for these "moderates" and "pragmatists" that insist they can pass "realistic legislation with the GOP"...no wait, you can't, we tried 8 years of that approach, and all it led to was Donald Trump.

[Mr. Smith]

all the horrible people on Twitter are Bernie supporters. 

All of them? OK.

As far as Russian trolls go, Sanders has cornered the market, again.
Though admittedly many of them are doing double duty for Tulsi this cycle.

Russian trolls but also people like the Gravel teens who just spew unhinged vitriol at all the other candidates.  If you see a leftist on Twitter saying Joe Biden has brain damage and needs to be euthanized, Hillary Clinton has Parkinsons and rapes children, Kamala is a racist murderer of black men, Warren is a traitor to the left for endorsing Hillary, Buttigieg is the wrong kind of gay, etc. It's guaranteed they support Bernie Sanders.

And that doesn't even get started on the tankies.  100% of people who think Lenin and Mao were justified in their mass-murders of businessmen, landlords, landowners and educated professionals also support Bernie Sanders.

See, I've seen much more vitriol from former Hillary supporters than Bernie supporters. They've been quite civil wrt my disagreements on Gabbard (who, through following the money, I believe to be a fraud). None of the rage I've seen - just simple debate and the occasional AAD dislike.

The Centrist Cult, however, is another story.

Hahahahaha yes I hate how whenever you see a celebrity supporting Bernie Sanders on Twitter their replies and mentions are drowned with an army of rabid, furious Joe Biden and John Delaney fans competing with each other for the nastiest burn.

Agreed,...non-ironically, #TheDonutShoppe really is a sad sad place.

[Mr. Smith]

https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Cranky-Bernie-Sanders-San-Francisco-Johns-Grill-14378921.php

I miss the days when the SF Chronicle was allowed to call Kamala Harris a crony.

When was that exactly? I can't remember.

[Mr. Smith]

https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Cranky-Bernie-Sanders-San-Francisco-Johns-Grill-14378921.php

I miss the days when the SF Chronicle was allowed to call Kamala Harris a crony.

When was that exactly? I can't remember.

https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Lawmakers-put-cronies-in-plum-jobs-Big-pay-few-2864693.php

So before Espinoza then? That's a lifetime ago.

[Mr. Smith]

I’m probably the only Hillary ‘08, Bernie ‘16 supporter in existence? Lol. 

Among posters here, Adam Griffin is the only other one I know of.

Among actual relevant people, Thom Hartman supported Clinton because he didn’t think America could elect a black man.

I'm also a Clinton '08, Sanders '16 supporter.

Same.

[Mr. Smith]

https://twitter.com/AnnieGrayerCNN/status/1172726522777493504

I'm more curious about the whole stolen from Trump 2015 headline at the bottom.